Do not open up holiday cottages too early

Whilst there is notable pressure from holiday accommodation owners to open up accommodation units, the chance of reinfection is high given the change over arrangement for incoming and outgoing holiday makers. Tourist would not have confidence in the appropriate level of cleaning to avoid contamination between families. While gvt allow holiday accommodation to go ahead, insurance firms would not pay out for those who feel unsafe to take pre booked breaks. Too much trust would be put in the cleaning process of the accommodation owners.

Why the contribution is important

Critical in controlling re-infection in light of holiday accommodation opening being driven by the economic concerns of owners over the safety of visitors.

by FG on May 05, 2020 at 01:39PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 2.6
Based on: 24 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Placemgt May 05, 2020 at 13:47

    Rural areas are particulalrly vulnerable to the reinfection of #covid19 from incoming tourists & visitors

  • Posted by sl806e May 05, 2020 at 13:52

    Many people rely on holiday homes to provide their income. For many this is their ONLY or MAIN source of income. Holiday homes also provide finances for the local economies who desperately need their business to survive.

  • Posted by johnbiggar May 05, 2020 at 14:16

    Why are rural areas considered to be more vulnerable to re-infection? Urban areas with higher population densities are bound to be more vulnerable. If town and city dwellers are not allowed into the country, then country people should not be allowed into towns.

  • Posted by GeorgeMGibson May 05, 2020 at 14:17

    I have book a holiday cottage for Mid June in Applecross. We are expecting the booking to be cancelled or rescheduled. My main concern is that the local community may not be ready for an influx of visitors, by that I mean to be “ socially” ready to welcome “outsiders” so you speak. Also local pubs and restaurants maybe still be closed or in some form of restriction thus rendering the “usual” social aspects of holidaying to be absent.
    We need to time the opening up of holiday facilities to be in tandem with other facilities such a shops, pubs, restaurants, attractions, hillwalking to give the local community the ability to properly adjust to having visitors in their midst.

  • Posted by Raw May 05, 2020 at 14:58

    As a holiday let owner, we have grave concerns about re-opening to visitors and being responsible for possibly disinfecting furnishings and fittings between guests in addition to our usual cleaning and laundry routines. We will have no idea if guests are bringing the virus, develop symptoms while in the property or when they return home. The risk to ourselves and to future guests is too great. We are viewing this summer as a write-off and will be hesitant about opening until the virus risks are significantly minimised. It would be helpful if our Tourism associations could provide more support and guidance to owners regarding the practical aspects of this issue. They have been vital in securing limited financial support and need to start looking at the long term impact.

  • Posted by ColinR May 05, 2020 at 16:27

    Heres a thought: if a family is in a let holiday location for a week and leave with no symptoms, then isnt it reasonable to assume they havent been / left any infection for the next visiting family, or cleaning/ turnaround staff? Encourage visitors to act responsibly but shop locally and infrequently and all will benefit.

  • Posted by SCD12 May 05, 2020 at 16:33

    Some ideas to try and minimise risks when it's deemed appropriate for holiday cottages to re-open:

    1. Colour-code parts of the country depending on covid-case infection rates and only allow travel to stay at same coloured areas. May be some practical issues with enforcing this but home owners can ask for proof of address from guests.

    2. Introduce a minimum cleaning standard that all houses must meet, as hotels are doing internationally. Require assessment before granting homes a licence to have guests.

  • Posted by sl806e May 05, 2020 at 20:27

    As a holiday home oner and a holiday home user, I would expect properties to be clean but I would also know the risks I was taking by using one.

    Treat people like adults.

  • Posted by Stephaniekeachie May 06, 2020 at 07:44

    We have 3 cottages it is our main income and my husbands full time job. Guests leave at 10am and next set do not arrive until tea time.

    We clean the cottages after departure guests bring their own towels and bedding. We do not do short breaks only weekly lets. Many areas including ours rely on tourism although majority of our guests are walkers and fishermen.

    If tourism is closed down totally then the forecast 1/3 unemployment could be much higher as shops don’t need to take on the seasonal staff they normally would and could lead to lose of full time permanent jobs resulting in people moving to try and find work.

    Holiday cottages could provide a health questionnaire prior to guests arriving. I know none of our guests booked in between July and September live in current hotspots as most of them are repeat guests who have been coming for years. We have been operating for 30 years and the holiday cottages are where we stay so it’s not as though they are being managed by someone afar.

    We don’t get any international tourists. Most of our tourists are from rural parts of England or northern Scotland. We’ve been operating for 30 years and most of our guests are repeat guests who we know aren’t from hot spot areas. We have had a grant for £10,000 grant. Moats English businesses like ours have been given that grant per property. Our over heads each year are about £30,000 across the business in terms of heating electric insurance tv license the list goes on. We currently have just under £11,000 of refunds to give back for those who were cancelled between end of March and end of June. Our insurance company may cover refunds but only during U.K. lockdown and instructions not Scottish government. But they may not cover these. Many of the main insurance companies are not covering business interruption for self catering cottages. There is a huge difference between someone like us that run their business as a family business and someone who has a holiday home somewhere they like who rents it out a few weeks a year to try and cover the costs

  • Posted by Jeannie May 06, 2020 at 20:36

    I agree we should not allow holiday cottages to open until later in the year
    If you allow holiday places to open in July and August the spread of the virus will go berserk
    Better to wait until after the main holiday season is over and slowly then allow people to have holidays once the virus numbers are down
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